The Rules of Rivals
by Eraleigh Aminah
Summary: #1 Rule: Never fall for your rival. Oh crap. - Phoebe Erickson and James Sirius Potter have been rivals since first year. It isn't until sixth year when some interesting developments take place, and to reach their goals, they'll need each other. JSP/OC
1. Off to Hogwarts!

_**DISCLAIMER: This disclaimer stands for the entire story. I don't own Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling. All recognizable characters, concepts, and places are property of J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything but my own characters.**_

**Title: The Rules of Rivals**

**Pairing: James Sirius Potter/OC (Phoebe Erickson)  
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**Updated: 6/30/10**

**Words: 4095

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_Alright, I have been working on this story for a while now, and I finally decided to post it. It's my very first Harry Potter fanfic, and I hope everyone likes it.__ I think it's fun and quirky, but hey, I'm the author. By all means, make your own opinion. _

_This story is (as the title implies) about the rivalry between James Sirius Potter and Phoebe Alyssa Despina Erickson. Which, actually, might not be so much of a rivalry. You'll see..._

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"Phoebe! Mum says that if you aren't down here soon, we're going to be last for the train!"

I sighed. Standing in front of my full-length mirror, I looked at my trunk once more. Everything was neatly laid out, my prefect and Quidditch Captain badges laid out carefully on top of my robes that I would change into. I was a sixth year Ravenclaw, and last year I had been received the two badges, much to my delight. If there was one thing I was insane about, it was Quidditch. Most of the time, I was very rational; there were only a few things that I felt strongly about that made me lose my calm demeanor.

Grabbing my trunk, I took one look in the full-length mirror in my room. My curly brown hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, and my dark blue eyes were the same as ever. I dragged my packed stuff towards the stairs, where my younger brother, Thomas, took it. He was a fifteen-year-old genius, much smarter than me.

My mother rushed us out the door, her black hair flying behind hers. It was rather like mine, just a darker shade. My mother was a hundred percent Greek, and my father was a hundred percent Norwegian. My father had light blond hair, and my brown curls were about right in between my parents hair colors.

My mother quickly drove her muggle car to King's Cross Station. She was muggle-born, and although she hadn't learned how to drive a car as a teenager, she had taught herself later. Once there, were grabbed carts and loaded our trunks onto them. Nyx, my brother's owl, and Beckett, my cat were loaded on too.

"You two first," my father said, motioning for Thomas and I to go ahead. We ran through the barrier, a familiar sight greeting us. The Hogwarts Express gleamed a bright red. Thomas waited with me as our parents came through. My mother swept me into a hug.

"Have a great year, hon. Always do your homework, and don't neglect your prefect duties because of Quidditch. Tell all of your friends I said hello. I love you."

"I love you too." I released my mother, smiling softly. I was fairly close with my parents for a sixteen-year-old (no teenage rebellion for me), and they meant a lot to me. I always felt a bit depressed at the station. Once we got to Hogwarts, it wasn't so bad, but right now my heart hurt. We were a very close family, seeing as we had no cousins except for my mother's brother's children, who lived in Greece.

I moved onto my father, as my brother switched with me. "Bye, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too. Don't listen to what your mother says. Quidditch is way more important than school. If my daughter wants to be a professional player when she leaves school, she's got to win the Cup, right? Kick that James Potter's arse."

I smiled at him. "Oh, you can bet on that. James Potter is an absolute idiot. His plays aren't nearly as tactical as mine. Gryffindor has no chance. Not with my team this year. I'm already pretty sure of everyone who will be playing. We're stronger than ever. Of course, Jiznik will probably make me hold try-outs, but still..."

My father laughed heartily. Sometimes he reminded me of a Viking, with his broad shoulders and his abnormal height. My father stood at 6'6, and was eleven inches taller than my mother. I was 5'8, and Thomas was still growing. He already stood at 6'0, and was growing more handsome by the day. I had no doubt that soon enough, despite his awkwardness with them, girls would be following him around like lost puppies.

After our family's goodbyes, Thomas and I stayed together to look for our friends. Because of Thomas' crazy intelligence, was in my grade. Since we were both sorted into the same house, he was a part of our group of sixth year Ravenclaws.

It wasn't long before Kali Marre, my best friend, found us. "Phoebe Alyssa Despina! Thomas !"

Oh, yeah. About Kali...she always greets me with my full names. She takes particular pleasure in saying it, simply because all of my names (save my last) are Greek, which Kali finds highly amusing, and I find highly irritating. My parents thought it would be neat. But hey, I didn't choose my name. At least it wasn't as insane as other wizard names. Some of the pureblood wizards insist on ridiculous family traditions with odd names. Phoebe is a fairly normal name, which I am supremely thankful for.

I smiled at my blonde friend. She was four inches shorter than me, and her eyes were an amber color. She was in Ravenclaw, but tended to slack off a bit more than the rest of us. Sometimes I think she belonged in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, like the rest of her family, but then she was the first (or second, depending on Thomas) to do a particularly difficult spell, or she came up with a brilliant play for Quidditch, and I was reminded of her genius.

Oh, another thing: Kali can't play Quidditch. She's terrified of heights, feels sick, and can't handle a broom right. She refused to take broom flying lessons after the first few in our first year, when she fell off at least five times in each class and was sent to the Hospital Wing each time, accompanied by a worried Madam Hooch. Despite that, she's amazing at coming up with plays. We work on them together late a night in our dorms sometimes.

She also loves the sport. She knows every rule, maneuver, and trick. Kali is the commentator for school games.

"Let's find the others," I said. The three of us looked around Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. We found our friend Aidan first, with his parents, and then Tiva and Shayden, who were actually looking for us.

"We have less than ten minutes before the train leaves," Tiva said, flipping her dark red hair over her shoulder. "I bet the others already found a couple compartments for us. Let's go."

We boarded the train and started moving down the aisle, looking for the other three in our group. It must have been close to eleven o'clock once we found them, seated comfortably inside, luggage already packed. Once we walked in, the guys all put our luggage away. Some of it went in the compartment right across the aisle, which Brent, Rhys, and Aaliyah had saved for us. Although we had separate compartments, we continuously visited the others.

After settling in, I sighed heavily. "Sorry, everyone, I have to go to the prefect's meeting. I'll see all of you later." My four friends rolled their eyes and smiled at me. Once outside my compartment, I found Rhys waiting for me to go to the meeting with him. His auburn hair sat neatly on his head, gleaming softly. He smiled at me, motioning for me to go first.

Ah...Rhys. We dated last year. We're both prefects, and we're both Quidditch players. We're very similar people. Everyone seemed to expect it. It seemed natural. Unfortunately, it turned out that we're too alike anyways. It wasn't that interesting. We always sort of knew what to expect from each other, which might be nice if you're, like, eighty, but not when you're a teenager. We split last March and agreed to remain friends.

On the way to the prefect's meeting, however, we were interrupted. By a certain James Potter.

Now, if you haven't guessed, I don't like James Potter. He's an arrogant prick, and also my rival ever since first year, when he pushed me into the Black Lake and I cursed him. He's (disgustingly) the most popular guy in school. I suppose you could call him handsome, what with his height (6'2 or so), messy black hair, hazel eyes, and Quidditch muscles. He's the self-proclaimed "leader" of the "Weasley-Potter clan", the extensive close-knit group of cousins and siblings. His best friend was his cousin Fred Weasley II. The two of them were incredible trouble-makers. As a prefect, I had caught them more than breaking the rules.

Even though James is absolutely horrid, his entire family isn't bad. His younger brother, Al, occasionally gets in trouble, as does his younger sister, Lily. Their cousin, Rose, is a stickler for rules, but her younger brother, Hugo, follows James around like a lapdog. Louis Weasley, resident player, second only to James himself, doesn't really get in trouble, and neither does his sister, Dominique. But they're both terrible flirts. My favorites are Roxanne Weasley, who despite her brother, is a really nice person, and Lucy Weasley, who I consider a good friend, even if she's a year below me.

But back to the point. James is a toerag. I hate him.

"Hello, Erickson. Well, don't you look chipper this morning. I imagine my good looks have lifted your spirits. I know that I feel better once I look at myself in mirror every morning." He grinned.

I raised an eyebrow. "Hilarious, Potter. I'm doubling over in laughter." I brushed past him. "Come on, Rhys. I could think of a hundred things I'd rather be doing than talking to James Potter."

A bunch of James' cronies chorused "Ooh, challenge!" at my response.

Okay, so I'm sort of a bitch to James. You would be too if you had been sent to the Hospital Wing twenty times by him. The only thing we shared was a mutual hatred for the other. I couldn't stand him, he couldn't stand me, but he sure loved to drive me insane. It's a nice little arrangement we have, don't you agree?

James grinned. "I guess some people don't appreciate the finer things in life, eh?" I slammed the door to the prefects compartment in his face.

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A few hours later I arrived back in my original compartment to find that all of the others were already there. "Room for two more?" Rhys joked. Shayden grinned and sat on Thomas' lap, who sat next to her.

"Now there is," she stated simply. I sat down in an empty seat next to the entrance while Rhys took Shayden's old spot. I looked at my brother, who looked somewhat uncomfortable, if not particularly against the situation. I smiled knowingly at him, just to piss him off. Thomas rolled his eyes at me.

My brother and I had mastered the art of speaking to each other through actions years ago. We were born only thirteen months apart, and had grown up very close, despite our differences. See, the thing is, even though Thomas is an incredibly talented wizard, but he's very hot-headed. He gets angry about little, unimportant things sometimes. That's where we very different, and why I'm the only prefect in our family.

But he was my little brother. And he wasn't nearly as annoying as most little brothers are.

"Phoebe...?" Aidan asked, waving a hand in front of my face. My cheeks tinted pink. Obviously I had missed a question or something.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I had to deal with a third-year Slytherin cursing a sweet, little Hufflepuff girl, and James Potter almost sending me to the Hospital Wing again. I hate that idiot..."

Kali rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we know. Remember the time when he pushed you off of your broom? I mean, it wasn't even a real game. Just a scrimmage..."

I groaned. "It's hard to forget falling from over a hundred feet up. Thank god for Rhys."

"You know," Brent started, "we could just beat him up if you wanted us to. The four of us could easily-"

"Thanks, guys, I'm good."

Boys. Brent was the type of person whose motto was "Act now, think later." He didn't like Potter either, not since third year when Potter had been the best hippogriff flyer. You can't really blame him. Brent's parents travel all over the world studying magical creatures. They went on long hikes through crazy swamps over breaks. Brent knew just about every magical animal that existed.

Still, it's a bit stupid of a grudge to hold. Not that I'd do anything about it.

I tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Aaliyah say, "You know, Potter's friends aren't that bad, so maybe he's not. I mean, if you judge a person by the type of company they keep. Lorcan and Lysander Scamander are actually really nice, even though they fight with each other a lot." She shrugged her shoulders.

Aaliyah is probably the most unique looking person I know. In a good way. She's sort of exotically beautiful. Her skin is caramel colored and her hair is black. Her mother is half Native American, and decided to travel to Europe, where she met Aaliyah's dad who, much to her surprise, was a wizard. You can tell she has some Native American blood in her.

"It doesn't matter," Tiva said. "James Potter himself is a total prat. He thinks he's really cool just because his father is Harry Potter."

"Yeah," I said dryly, "he's not the only one who thinks that. How they follow him around like sheep disgusts me."

Rhys groaned. "If all you're going to do is talk about James Potter, you might as well go join his fan club."

I pulled a face. "Ugh. Gag me."

"So," Aidan said, easing into a new topic. "The U.K.'s Quidditch team seems pretty strong this year. What d'ya think the chances are of it making it to the Cup?"

I snorted. "Slim. Victor Krum is coaching Bulgaria this year. Even though our team was put together really well, there's no way of beating Italy's team. You can hardly see them when they fly, they're so fast. So, we have to beat Bulgaria. We need a better coach. Len Golding is getting a little too old to interact and connect with his team really well."

There was silence for a moment. "Way to be a buzzkill," Tiva muttered.

I shrugged, grinning apologetically. "Sorry. Just stating the facts."

There was a silence for a moment. "...Wow, I can't believe we already have nothing to say," Shayden said, twirling her silky black ponytail. "Um...oh! What did you all get on your O.W.L.s? And what classes are you taking?"

Being sixth year Ravenclaws, we all got pretty good grades. The lowest were Tiva's P in Astronomy and Brent's P History of Magic. Thomas, of course, got the best grades (all O's), but most of us only got a few grades worse than that, and we all had at least four O's.

I took every class I could without having too full of a schedule. I got O's in Transfiguration, Potions, DADA, Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. I got E's in the rest of my classes (Arithmancy, History of Magic, Astronomy), except for Charms, which I had always been awful at. I got a passable A in that class.

Anyways, we were all planning on continuing Transfiguration, DADA, and Potions. Charms, too, if I would be able too. I was also planning on dropping only History of Magic and Astronomy. My schedule would be full, taking the amount of classes people studying for O.W.L.s usually did, especially with Quidditch. But I didn't know what job I wanted, so I was trying to keep my options open. Besides, I rather enjoyed most of my classes.

I bit my lip. "I really worried that Professor Valena might not let me continue with Charms. I mean, an A isn't that good. Most of the teachers want at least an E..."

The others smiled at me, but Thomas looked kind of awkward. He didn't really have to worry about not getting to do any classes He could become Minister of Magic someday, if he really wanted to. He lacks the social skills, but he's so bloody brilliant, no one would care.

"Well," Kali said, "I couldn't be more relieved to not be doing Herbology again. I always get a ton of dirt on my robes, and we always had classes right after..."

We all rolled our eyes. Kali was great at Herbology. (She got an O, I have no clue why she wasn't taking the class.) Nevertheless, she hated plants and dirt. I suppose it was kind of the opposite with me and Charms. I loved the class, but I was awful at it. I suppose that's life for you.

Rhys and I had missed the trolley, so the others shared some candy with us. After we ate, the boys went back to their compartment, and we all sat comfortably, with a lot more room. We talked about each of our summers until the end of the ride. Tiva had a family reunion in Russia, and it was apparently very eventful, because her cousin was engaged to some family rival and Tiva's aunt and uncle were furious.

Shayden and Aaliyah had spent the summer vacationing together in Spain. ("I'm so jealous of your tan!") We had originally all planned on going, but none of the rest of us could go. Still, we encouraged them to have fun because otherwise they'd be sitting around all summer, which none of us wanted. We were still planning on all going somewhere together, maybe after graduation.

Kali spent her break in Ireland, with family. I had been at her house once when she had all of her relatives over, and I swear, there are a least forty of them. It was quite the event. It happened every other summer, which Kali insisted was far to often to deal with her "bloody younger cousins."

As for me... Well, Thomas and I had been visiting our favorite relatives in Greece, so I had a nice tan, for once. My skin was fair because of my father and the fact that I've lived in the U.K. my entire life, but I tanned easily. I missed the warm sea breeze and the beautiful cities. I've always loved Greece, and still wonder to this day why my mother left it. I thought it was rather calming and refreshing, not to mention gorgeous. I can't imagine why she'd ever _think_ about leaving. It's probably because I've never lived that I love it so much.

I felt the train come to a stop, and we met with the boys and started to walk towards the carriages. We were all laughing at a joke Aidan made, when an annoying voice behind me called, "Erickson, I think you're missing something!"

I spun around at the sound of James Potter's voice, only to find him surrounded by his usual group—Fred, Lorcan, and Lysander. He was holding a bag, which, I realized, with a dull thud in my stomach, was _mine_. My eyes opened wide.

"Potter, I don't know how in the world you managed to get that, but give it back! It's mine!"

"You didn't particularly seem to care for it when you left it in the prefects compartment," Potter replied lazily. I furrowed my eyebrows. Potter wasn't a prefect, so how could he have gotten my bag. I realized a moment later that Lysander Scamander must have stolen it for him.

I turned to the blonde, anger on my face, although I was silently counting to ten in my head, trying to remain calm. "Lysander, how could you?" I asked, proud of my reasonable voice. "You're a prefect; this is against the rules!"

Potter scoffed. "Yeah, Lys, how could you?" he questioned in a falsetto. He rolled his eyes. He started to open my bag, shuffling through its contents. Thomas stepped towards him, crossing his arms menacingly and glaring. I mentioned that our father looked like a Viking, right? Well, Thomas inherited his impressive build, but James was the same size as him, although perhaps a tad taller. I hoped this wouldn't become physical.

"Give it back, Potter," Thomas growled. Potter just grinned.

"Getting people to fight for you, Erickson? That won't help you on the Quidditch field!"

"That is it!" I snarled. "_Accio Phoebe's bag!_" My bag came flying towards me as I stepped towards Potter and came to stand next to Thomas. My navy eyes glaring fiercely, I said, "Next time I win, it's going to be on the Quidditch pitch. No chance in _hell_ I'm going to lose to a low-life like you!"

As I walked away, I couldn't help but be surprised by Potter's lack of response.

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The Great Hall was packed with students, and the first years were anxiously waiting to be sorted. They looked nervous as the Sorting Hat sang, and maybe a little frightened. I smiled at a little raven-haired girl who looked in my direction. She hesitantly smiled back. Who says I'm always mean? I was a first year once, I know how it feels. Your Hogwarts House can determine so much in your future, and the kids seemed to understand what a huge impact on your life it could have.

I turned to Thomas. "You ready?"

Every year, we tried to guess which House each first year would be sorted into. I was a good judge of character. (The key is the small things. Slytherins are the hardest; they're the best actors, most of the time.) Usually I was right, sometimes Thomas was, and rarely neither of us were. The other liked to place bets on which of us was right. Almost everyone sided with me.

Thomas grinned. "You're on."

Finally, the sorting started with "Alterra, Silena!" Surprisingly, the girl I smiled at walked up quite confidently. Gryffindor, or maybe Ravenclaw. I told my friends so. The hat sat on her head for almost a minute...

"RAVENCLAW!" She slipped the hat off, relieved it was over, and looked for me. I smiled at her, even though Thomas won.

Two girls after Silena was sorted into Hufflepuff, and I guessed those right. Next was a Gryffindor, whom Thomas got. After that there was a cocky Slytherin boy, an inquisitive-looking Ravenclaw boy, and a Slytherin girl who looked like she was planning something. I won all those.

The sorting ended with "Yuvel, Roger!" being sorted into Slytherin. I had twenty-two, and Thomas had sixteen. I smiled. Victory once more.

After that we enjoyed the feast, talking animatedly about...well, actually, mostly we just ate. You'd be surprised how tiring sitting on a train all day can be.

Rhys and I didn't need to lead the first years up to the dorms, but we followed behind. A bunch of tired second, third, and forth years followed us, but most older kids stayed up a bit later to talk and just hang out. I think it makes them feel cooler and more mature. By the time the feast is over, I always just want to go to bed.

I walked up the stairs into my dorm room that I shared with Kali, Tiva, Shayden, and Aaliyah. Spotting my trunk at the end of my bed, I changed into my pajamas and climbed into my bed, taking out a book to wait until my friends showed up. I scratched behind Beckett's ears, and he curled up against me.

I put away my book when my friends entered, and we all fell asleep soon after, trying to get enough sleep before tomorrow morning when we would have to get up early for classes.

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_**Next Chapter...**_

_... "James! Don't we have a plan to go through with?" Oh right, my evil plan ..._

_... Oh, Erickson, you're doomed. There's no coming back from this ..._

_... "August 17th, 2021" ..._

_... Secret crush, bashing Hufflepuffs, filthy cheating ..._

_... "James, I just saw Phoebe Erickson run up to the Ravenclaw tower, sobbing. What did you do?" ...

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_Until next time, my pretties! Please review!  
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	2. The Evil Plan

**Title: The Rules of Rivals**

**Pairing: James Sirius Potter/OC (Phoebe Erickson)  
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**Updated: 7/8/10**

**Words: 3159

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_You may not believe me, but I really meant to update earlier. My dad accidentally cut __connection cord, and then we went on a short vacation. I'm really sorry about the wait. They shouldn't be so long in the future. Enjoy this chapter, it really gets the plot rolling!

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"James!" Someone called. "Come on, we have to get up for breakfast. Besides, don't we have a plan to go through with?" Oh, right. My evil plan. Not much of a plan, just a way to totally ruin Phoebe Erickson's life. Have I mentioned that I hate that girl? She's so annoying, and she honestly thinks she can beat me at Quidditch! The nerve of her. Mum played for the Holyhead Harpies and Dad was the youngest Hogwarts Seeker in a century! I had genes on my side.

Oh, right, I almost forgot. The plan. Well, turns out, for a Ravenclaw, Erickson isn't too smart. As I was shuffling around her bag last night, I found a leather book that looked suspiciously unlike a textbook or (gag me!) a reading book. Before we confronted her, I pulled it out of her ugly leather bag. And what did it end up being? Well, turns out Erickson has something of a social life (if only with Ravenclaw nerds) to write about in a diary.

Was that a gasp I heard? I'm not finished. I'm going to read it aloud at breakfast. Why? Because I'm James Potter, she's Phoebe Erickson, and I _can_. Oh, and because people will think she's a total loser, so they'll avoid Quidditch try-outs, which means she won't have a team. _That's_ why it's my evil plan. And so simply, beautifully brilliant. I love it.

Fred and I walked down to the Great Hall bloody early, just so I could be there when Erickson walked in. Considering the fact that she's a nerd, she probably wakes up early every day or something equally outrageous as that. Merlin forbid I ever do that without ulterior motives. Can you imagine the torture!

I looked up at the professor's table to find that not many were up yet. Good. Finding a few seventh year Gryffindors at the end of the table, I walked over to them, sending Fred to get other students. _Oh, Erickson, you're doomed. There's no coming back from this. _As I sat down, the seventh years looked at me curiously, before my cousin, Dominique, asked, "Hey, James, what are you doing here?"

I smiled. "Oh, nothing. Can't I say hello to my favorite cousin?" She rolled her eyes. I saw my other cousin Molly raise her eyebrows, offended. Oh, whoops.

"I know I'm not your favorite cousin, thanks for the kind words. What's really up?"

I shrugged. "Just came to ask you to tell Al that Quidditch tryouts are going to be in next Friday, at seven."

She looked suspiciously at me. "You could tell him that yourself. There's something else you want to say."

I raised my eyebrows and nodded appreciatively. "Damn, you know me far better than I would like. Just wait until Fred comes here with some other people. I've got something important to share."

I could see I had her interested. "Fine, it just better not waste my time."

Fred returned with a bunch of other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws. All at least in fourth year. There were enough for my plan to be an easy success. Ha! I could taste victory, feel the amazement of my peers as they realized, once again, how amazing I was. And I could see the scandalized expression on Erickson's face when she realized that, once again, I won. In the end, I always did.

With a look a Fred, I began. "Here in my bag, I have a very special something that has been a secret for years!"

As I pulled out Erickson's diary, I was expecting gasps of surprise. Instead, a fifth year Hufflepuff quietly asked his friend, "James Potter is sharing his secret diary?"

I tried not to let my annoyance show on my face. "This isn't _my _diary, git. It's Phoebe Erickson's!" A bunch of people raised their eyebrows in surprise, looking curious. Ah. I loved how low people would stoop for a juicy piece of gossip. Honestly, diaries are supposed to be private.

Unless that diary just so happens to belong to your arch nemesis. Then, by all means, go ahead.

I flipped open to a random page in the middle. I continued to flip until I found a recent entry. Erickson's handwriting was neat and tidy, just like I expected. Girls. Their lives would be easier if they didn't worry about details.

"_August 17__th__, 2021,_" I read.

"_Today we're to Diagon Alley to purchase our new school books for sixth year. It'll be __expensive, seeing as Thomas and I are both taking at least eight classes. I know that eight classes is a lot, especially because I'm Quidditch Captain _and_ a prefect, but I feel like I should keep my options open. It's easier for Thomas—he's a bloody genius without any of my other concerns._

_ "We're meeting Aidan, Rhys, Kali, and Tiva there. Shayden and Aaliyah are just getting back from their trip today, and Brent has to go with his family. I secretly wish he was coming with us. Shayden and Aaliyah too, of course, but I've fancied Brent ever since May when he bought me chocolate from Honeydukes when I couldn't go into Hogsmeade because I had an exam in Charms, which I'm rubbish at. Not that you don't know that. _

_ "I haven't told Kali yet, but I have hinted to her in our letters that I like someone. I know for a fact that she doesn't know who yet, because she asked me who it was in our last letter. I'm not planning on telling her for a while, though._"

I looked up at Fred again, mentally laughing at how well this was going. More and more people were coming over to see why everyone was gathered around me. There was still no sign of Erickson, but I had no doubt she would be here in a couple of minutes. Just in time to find herself screwed over.

I continued.

"_Anyways, this will be the first time I've seen everyone since school got out in June. We were all away. I was hoping to meet up with Kali to come up with a couple more plays for Quidditch, but she couldn't come over. Oh well. James Potter is still going to lose. As I've said a million times, the arrogant toerag has no planning skills at all. His plays aren't half as wonderful as the ones I think up with Kali._"

I had to raise an eyebrow dubiously. Oh yeah? Who's the wonderful one now?

"_Yet, somehow, he won the Cup last year. It's only because they were so brutal to Hufflepuff, beating them by three hundred points or so. Honestly, what an embarrassing game for Hufflepuff. I'm glad we weren't _that_ pathetic. It was only because of Fred Weasley hitting Anastasia off her broom with that Bludgeor that they won at all. Honestly, how was she supposed to play with her shoulder dislocated like that?It's bloody painful even when the healing spell is cast right! Which, of course, it wasn't, because James Potter is an absolute heartless prat who stoops to cheating like that. He could have cast the spell right (he's not a total idiot, he's actually quite brilliant at a lot of things), but he didn't. On purpose. Only a sadist would put such an innocent fourth (now fifth) year girl through such harm._"

I did cast that healing spell right! It's not my fault that Al's a better Seeker than Anastasia...whatever her last name was. She probably just couldn't focus enough or something, which shows her complete lack of fighting Quidditch spirit!

_ "Still, I suppose he's not the only one to break the rules of Quidditch. Hey, Tiva _dared_ me to! What else was I supposed to do, back out? It was just a little Bludgeor, nothing harmful. The jinx wasn't even that strong! Really, it hardly-_"

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Right on time. God, this couldn't have worked out more perfectly. Secret crush, bashing Hufflepuffs, filthy cheating, and, best of all...

"Oh, hello Erickson. I was just wondering what sort of things you think I'm brilliant at?"

Oh, she was pissed. Whatever. I couldn't be happier. I had an excuse to curse her. Not that I need one, but still. She hexed the Bludgeor and made it hit me in the face. Damn lucky Al's a good Seeker and Rosie's handy with a wand.

She growled—yes, growled—at me, and snatched the diary out of my hands. I let her. The damage was already done. Everyone was silently laughing at her embarrassment (people these days). I joined in. Hey, she's _my_ rival. She hit _me _with a Bludgeor. Just a little payback, nothing big.

She cast a look at the crowd of people, then fled the room. I saw tears come out of her eyes. And no, I didn't feel guilty. Erickson and I hate each other guts—always have, always will.

The crowd disappeared pretty quickly after that, and I looked around for the bloke Erickson had mentioned. Brent...I guessed she meant the sixth year Ravenclaw, Brent Wilson. Obviously. I looked over at the Ravenclaw table to find him standing up, probably to go after Erickson. Well, gee, that'll be awkward. I hope he's heard what I read.

Now, before you go labeling me a complete and utter jerk. It's just Erickson. I don't even really mind her brother, only when he defends her. But I have hated Phoebe Erickson ever since I first met her on the Hogwarts Express in first year...

_I was eleven years old when I confidently walked onto the brightly colored train with my cousins, Fred and Roxanne, for the very first time. We weren't nervous like most first years. Our parents had saved the entire bloody world, why the hell should we be nervous? Besides, I just knew I was going to be in Gryffindor, like my entire family. _

_ We found a compartment for ourselves. Dominique and Molly were second years, and claimed that we weren't "cool enough" to hang out with them. That was fine by me. They were girls; why would I want to hang out with them? Girls were crazy. Of course, Roxy didn't count. She was really nice, and didn't care about the stupid things other girls did. _

_ Out of absolutely nowhere, a cat came flying at my face. It scratched me a couple times before I furiously threw it off. I heard an angry voice shout at me, "Why did you throw my cat on the ground?" I looked up at the offending voice._

_ A girl (big shocker, considering her craziness) stood in front of me, hands on her hips. She was the same height as I was, which I thought was pretty tall, so I instantly felt like I had to beat her. She had curly brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a few freckles along on her nose and cheeks. She was glaring at me, which was an odd sensation for me, after being ogled at the platform by wizards that knew who my father was. _

_"Are you insane?" the girl demanded.  
_

_ Defensively, I said, "Your stupid cat just attacked my bloody face!" _

...Okay. So maybe I could have been more diplomatic.

_ The girl snorted. "Maybe he found something offensive?"_

_ I glared at her. "Well it's a wonder he's not dead yet, living with you!"_

And that, my friends, was when I realized that I would never like Phoebe Erickson.

Yep, that's right, she started it. I know it sounds immature, and I guess we were back then. But so many things have happened in between then and now, and there are really just too many things to take back (who would want to?). Pranks, shouting matches, curses, duels, and the occasional food fight. Let me tell you, gravy is not the best thing to get poured down your back.

Oh, and, of course, Quidditch. We joined our respective House teams in second year, both of us Chasers. We were some of the best players in our year (actually, I was the best, and Erickson was...passable), and some of the youngest on the field. Our teams would constantly be penalized for Erickson and I fighting "aggressively". We would gloat when our team got a shot, and scowl when the other team did. Our competitiveness fueled our rivalry.

Erickson claims to hate me because I'm "arrogant". But I think she's jealous, because she _knows_, deep down inside her, where some cheap imitation of a heart must lie, that I'm simply a better player and Captain, with a better team than her. And, well, I always win in the end.

But hating Erickson had sort of become a way of life. It's one of things that stayed constant. Even when Fred decided he wanted a steady girlfriend and Al started going on dates to Hogsmeade (I'm still not used to that), I could always go and bicker with Erickson, just so life seemed normal again.

That being said, no, I didn't enjoy talking to her. She was annoying and aloof, trying to act like McGonagall or something. But when I needed to get my anger out, I just found her and let it all out. Although sometimes that backfired and made me _more_ angry. Ah well. You can't always get what you want.

"James?" Professor Longbottom asked. I turned toward him to get my timetable. I was taking DADA, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology. I don't want to worrying about classes when Quidditch is going on. I want to be a professional Quidditch player, and to do that, I have to be amazing when the scouts come. So my first priority is not school. It's whipping my team into shape so Ravenclaw stands no chance. I can't believe Erickson is taking eight classes. She won't be able to have Quidditch practice. That or she won't sleep.

"Thanks Professor," I said as he handed me my schedule. Oh, lovely. Free period first thing on Thursday. I'd have time to either go back to sleep, or maybe plan another prank with Fred. The beauty of laziness.

My fifth year cousin Rose came to sit across from me. She's a responsible, goody-two-shoes prefect. Needless to say, we're nothing alike. But I'm fiercely loyal to all my cousins, no matter how often we fight. Which, with Rosie, is a lot. She's sort of like my conscience. In another person. I don't know if I really have much of a conscience.

"Hey, Rosie. Excited for a year of non-stop studying?" I asked. She undoubtedly was. Workaholic nerds like her thought exams were like parties. O.W.L.s were like a freakin' carnival.

Rose just rolled her eyes. "James, I just saw Phoebe Erickson run up to the Ravenclaw tower, sobbing. What did you do?"

"How many people were pointing and laughing?"

"JAMES!"

I shrugged. "What did I do?"

Rose huffed. "Yes, I'd like to know that too."

"Why do you automatically assume _I _did something?" I smiled brightly.

Rosie just stared at me. After what must have been thirty seconds, she sighed. "Come on, James. As if it was anyone but you. I've never seen her so humiliated. Usually she just jinxes you or something."

I nodded sagely. "Yes, normally she would. The female mind is a mystery yet to be understood by men, but I would assume that she felt embarrassed by the fact that I _maybe_ read her diary to a crowd of about thirty people. Did you know that she was the one who caused that freak Bludgeor accident in that match against Ravenclaw last year?"

"James! That's—wait, _what_ did she do?"

I shrugged. "And no one believed me when I told them she was evil..."

"Why would she jinx the Bludgeor?"

"That what _I_ wanted to know. Unfortunately, she ran off before I even got to tease her about liking some bloke she's friendly with."

Al sat down next to Rosie, buttering a piece of toast. "I heard that she was dared to, James. Or did you forget that part?"

I shrugged again. "It may have slipped my mind. Doesn't really matter, the way I'm going to tell it."

They rolled their eyes in unison, used to my deviousness when it came to all things Erickson. By now they should expect it. Need I remind you of our five-year rivalry? I'm really not that bad of a person. Ask anyone (but Erickson). They'll tell you I'm confident, dramatic, fun-loving, protective, and loyal. Or maybe they'd change 'protective' to 'invasive', but still. A generally good person.

Fred, Lorcan, and Lys all sat down together. Fred grinned evilly, his brown eyes gleaming. "James, I do believe that couldn't have gone any more perfectly."

I beamed at him and fluttered my eyebrows, pretending to be a girl. "Oh, thank you, how flattering. The idea was my very own." The twins laughed.

"So, I'm off to make Erickson seem like a heartless bitch. Anyone care to join me?"

Rose frowned at me. "You know, James, maybe you should apologize to her. After all, a diary's a very private thing for a girl; we write our thoughts down knowing that it's for our eyes only. Telling all of Hogwarts that Phoebe Erickson likes a friend is just embarrassing, and I can't find any reason for you to do that."

I pretended to be shocked. "Reason? Why would I need a reason to humiliate Erickson?" With that, I sauntered off, proud of my accomplishments so far. It wasn't even nine o'clock, and I had already ruined Erickson's year. Things were looking up.

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_**...Next Chapter...**_

_... I hate James Sirius Potter ..._

_... You're better than him ..._

_... __"Brent said he wanted to talk to you" __..._

_..._****_"Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry are really upset with James" ..._

_... "If you don't provoke him, Uncle Harry won't invite your family over for dinner" ...

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_Please review! I always appreciate constructive criticism and I love to hear what you have to say! Of course, it's also input for me to continue. :)  
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	3. Repercussions

**Title: The Rules of Rivals**

**Pairing: James Sirius Potter/OC (Phoebe Erickson)  
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**Updated: 7/17/10**

**Words: 3511

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_I told you I'd be updating again soon! This next chapter includes more and more hate. You'll have to read to find out what exactly happens, but I hope I can promise a __tense chapter. It's not as important as what happened last time we met, but it includes some important things. Please enjoy and review!

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I hate James Sirius Potter.

And this time, I actually have a perfectly understandable reason for this: he's ruined the rest of my Hogwarts career. He read my bloody_ diary _to the Great Hall, reading what could possibly be the most revealing entry in the entire thing. Now Brent will know I like him (before Kali!), Hufflepuffs will shun me, and everyone will make fun of me. And what's more, he reduced me to a pathetic girl eating chocolate in her dorm, crying her eyes out.

I hate James Sirius Potter.

I heard a rush of footsteps, and the door to our dorm burst open. The blue curtains of my four-poster bed were pulled back to reveal Kali, who promptly engulfed me in a huge hug. I couldn't do anything but sob into her shoulder. I knew it was pathetic, but I was so _embarrassed_. On the first day of school...

"Oh, sweetie," Kali cooed. "It's okay, everything's going to be fine. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but people aren't going to hold this against you for too long. The girls are coming up now, they just wanted to help straighten everything out."

I cried a little harder, because I didn't deserve such great friends. "Oh, _Kali_," I said heavily. "I'm going to be the laughingstock of the entire school! _First years_ are going to look down on me!"

Kali probably would have been looking around uncomfortably had I bothered to look at her. Finally, she sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, hon. That's going to happen. But it'll blow over in a month or so. And don't worry too much; everyone is too terrified of Thomas to say anything to your face. And we'll tell them off if they do anything behind your back."

I stopped crying, partly because Kali was slightly successful, and partly because I didn't want to seem whiny. "Thanks," I sniffled. I straightened a bit. Breaking off a piece, I asked her, "Chocolate?" Kali laughed and took the proffered sweet.

Shayden, Tiva, and Aaliyah appeared. "Alright, so anyone got a revenge plan? 'Cause I'm running low on my supply."

I giggled a bit through my tears. "No plan necessary...yet. I need to get over the shock. I'm not sure whether I can handle going to class yet. Merlin, can you believe that classes haven't even started yet?"

Shayden bit her lip, looking at me with amber eyes. "Well...it's the first class...and I bet Potter would be rather disappointed if he found out you _did_ go..." I grinned at her.

"You're right. I'll show him that he can't get to me. It was the shock. I'm above that. Besides, if I have all of you, why should I need anyone else? I don't care about what they think."

Tiva grinned. "Well, I suggest that you prove that by looking amazing. Fix your hair; it's messy. You're a stunning person, you don't need anyone else to tell you that. _You_ tell _them_."

I smiled appreciatively at Tiva's helpful words. I knew sometimes people thought that Tiva was a bit of a slag, because she took great pride in how she looked, but it was really to boost her self-confidence. She doesn't actually live with her parents, she lives with her uncle and aunt because her parents were abusive to her a young child. Not physically, but verbally. Finally her relatives couldn't stand it anymore. They disowned the two and took Tiva in. Some might say that Tiva didn't need to dress like a slag to boost self-confidence, but she doesn't even really dress like one. I would call her style more flirty than anything, but since she wasn't cute, and was instead gorgeous and tall, people didn't see her that way.

I actually really admired her. And valued her suggestion.

"Alright, you _all_ have to help me, though. Our first class if Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and they're going to hate me right now. I need all of the support I can get."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later I was walking towards the greenhouses with Tiva and Shayden when Thomas, Rhys, and Aidan joined us. By way of greeting, Thomas said, "I punched all of the guys I heard talking about you. I couldn't do anything to the girls except for glare. Sorry, but Tiva and Aaliyah were with you, and I can't bitch-slap nearly as effectively as they can. Actually, I can't bitch-slap at all; I'm not a girl."

"Wow, I never noticed! Thank you for enlightening me."

Ugh. Sarcasm. It's a bad day, alright?

Thomas shrugged, expecting my bad mood. "Any plans on murdering Potter yet?"

I perked up. "I have a few, but I don't think any I've thought up yet are cruel enough."

Thomas sighed. "Phoebe, may I talk to you for a moment?"

I glanced around. "Um, sure. But class will start real soon."

He shrugged, once again. He likes noncommittal responses. "It won't take us long, promise. Just come; it's important."

I shrugged (hey, family genes). "Alright." We walked over to the side of a greenhouse. "So what is it?"

Thomas stared at me heavily with his dark eyes, carbon copies of my mother's. "Phoebe, I'm really sorry about what Potter did. It was totally uncalled for. I mean, rude comments and pranks are one thing, but stealing something that personal—"

"Actually, it was kind of stupid to have a diary anyways. How sentimental can you get? I really dunno why I had one. I'm more embarrassed by that fact and that I actually left my bag in the prefects' compartment anyways. I did this to myself."

"Don't be stupid," Thomas all but growled. "It was a bloody awful thing to do, and I dunno if I'll be able to keep from punching him in the face next time I see him." My brother hesitated before saying his next words, carefully choosing them, or so it appeared. "I just...well, I don't want this to—er, what I mean to say is..." Thomas sighed angrily. "I don't want you to let this affect you. You're better than him, leave it at that."

I smiled softly at the rare act of sentimentality. "That's sweet, Thomas. Thanks. I swear, I'm good." I looked at him awkwardly. "Well...I suppose we'd better get going..."

"One more thing," Thomas said. "Brent said he wanted to talk to you."

* * *

Throughout Herbology I was worried about talking with Brent, while also dealing with glares from the Hufflepuffs, especially Kiara Burzon, Hufflepuff's center Chaser. Whatever happened to forgiving and friendly? I definitely got a most _un_friendly vibe that class. Mostly caused by my insecurities about what seeing Brent again.

I think I might have had a thing for him for years, but never really realized until that fateful day when he brought me chocolate. I'm a sucker for chocolate. It's just so...delicious and sweet and...chocolate-y...thank Merlin for Quidditch. Without it I would be a shapeless blob.

But, right, on track. I was incredibly worried about Brent. He was a close friend, and I didn't want that to end because of a silly thing I wrote in my diary. Albeit, that diary was supposed to be private, but no doubt that news of my crush would've gotten out eventually. I liked things the way they were, I suppose. I mean, I could deal with everything. It was embarrassing how he had found out, but there was nothing I could do about it.

We left Herbology with fifty more house points (courtesy of Thomas), and started walking to our next class, which just so happened to be...

"Charms!" I moaned. "Oh no! I never stayed long enough to get my time-table from Jiznik. I don't think I signed up. We have to hurry ahead!"

I pulled my friends along with me, rushing through the halls of the castle. As if the students didn't already have enough reason to gossip about me. I was just giving them more things to use against me. But if wanted to take Charms, I would have to discuss it with Professor Valena first. Tiva hurried ahead with me, and we quickly left the others behind.

We sprinted down the Charms Corridor on the third floor, stopping once we reached the classroom. Tiva and I rushed up to Professor Valena, who look at me, confused. Her thin black eyebrows drew together in a sharp V on her aging face (which still looked young enough, actually). Her dark hair was pulled into a low ponytail, as was her usual.

"Miss Erickson? I don't believe you are in this class..."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Professor," I said nervously, and somewhat hurriedly. "I only got an A in Charms, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to continue at a N.E.W.T. level. I really want to, of course, that's why I'm here. I would've asked Professor Jiznik at breakfast, but there were some complications..."

I trailed off, uncertain of what I could say next. Professor Valena nodded briskly, although I got the distinct feeling that she was somewhat uncomfortable.

"Erm...well, actually, I heard about that. Perfectly understandable, of course." Professor Valena continued to nod and I grew increasingly pink. Merlin. The _teachers_ knew! How mortifying. "Well, Miss Erickson, I believe that we can arrange something. There was an uneven number in the class anyways. Do you have the required Charms book, then?"

"Er...yes, Professor."

"Right then. Well, have a seat, you two."

Tiva and I walked somewhere near the middle, although it was probably closer to the front. She gave me a confident smile. "That was exceptionally easy," she whispered to me as we sat in our seats. Just as we did, the rest of the Ravenclaw sixth years entered, making the awkwardness of being the only two students in a room with a teacher disappear.

As I saw Brent enter, I felt my stomach do flip-flops, but they weren't the excited, happy ones. They were the sickening ones. His green eyes flickered over to me and he smiled hesitantly. I was a bit embarrassed he saw me watching, but I smiled back a little, grateful. I knew it wouldn't affect our friendship, whatever happened. Most notably, my stomach settled down a bit.

Kali sat behind Tiva and I with Aaliyah, while Rhys and Aidan sat in front of us. Immediately, the two later turned around to face us. "Guess who's joining us?" Aidan asked glumly. I felt yet another unpleasant sensation in my stomach, rather as if it was morbidly sinking.

"You don't mean..." I trailed off dangerously.

"He does," Aaliyah chimed in grimly.

"The Gryffindors," Kali said, a dark expression on her face. "Just don't...do anything stupid during the class, alright everyone? I mean, I'm all for glaring, but we can't be too obvious about our hatred for the Gryffindor boys. That would be very bad."

I sighed and nodded. "I didn't want to have to face either of them this soon," I admitted to the girls. "It was only two hours or so ago..."

We all looked at each other darkly as the Gryffindor boys entered, then glared as Potter entered, laughing. He quickly glanced around the room. Upon seeing me, he grinned brightly and pretended to tip a (nonexistent) hat to me. I huffed and looked away. I couldn't stand looking at him without feeling a need to slap or hex him. Both worked quite effectively.

The entire lesson (which was spent in a lecture about how difficult N.E.W.T.s were and how these next two years we would need to work harder (Professor Valena looked at me for that part) than any other year), the Gryffindor boys and us Ravenclaws were shooting looks at each tried to show our utter contempt for what the boys did, while the boys themselves were grinning gleefully the entire time.

Finally, the class ended and I escaped as quickly as possible with Kali so we could go to the Great Hall for lunch, but Potter seemed to have other plans. He came up to me quickly, Fred (unfortunately, I cannot call him by his last name, as they have many Weasley cousins) by his side. They approached us with sadistic smiles on their faces, and I scowled angrily.

"I really don't feel like dealing with you right now, Potter," I stated, trying to push past him. When they blocked our exit, I stared furiously into his eyes. My voice was deathly calm as I demanded, "Let us through." Potter's smile stretched farther than I though possible.

"I'd rather not."

Kali rolled her eyes. "Shove off, gits. Do you enjoy annoying us?"

Fred answered this question. "Actually, we don't really like you. In fact, we sort of hate you. But we _do _enjoy making your day significantly worse."

"Congrats, you succeeded."

"You know, Erickson, the Hufflepuffs are rather upset with you today. Can't imagine why. Actually, they might have realized that you are a—" Potter paused here, as if he was thinking of a polite word to use—"well, a bitch. No offense. I heard a rather interesting rumor that you were jealous of Remy Shore. The pretty, blond-haired, blue-eyed Hufflepuff Chaser? The one who scored all of the goals two years ago and beat Ravenclaw?"

At that precise moment, I felt like gouging James Potter's eyes out with a teaspoon, regardless of the consequences. I resented the fact that he was four inches taller than me as I stood up on my tippy-toes. I counted carefully to ten in my head, then said as evenly as possibly, "Potter, I'm giving five seconds to get away before I hex you so bad that you won't _want_ to be at the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match!"

James just continued to smile. "But Erickson, that would ruin your perfect record!"

"Ugh!"

Kali took my arm in her hand and dragged me away. "Come _on_, Phoebe, we're leaving. Leave these losers alone. We're better than them, remember?" I took a calming breath and nodded slowly.

"You're right. I'm sorry, I know I promised to act more mature this year. He just makes me so _angry_! I mean, what a bastard! How hasn't he been disowned yet?"

An unexpected face appeared beside us. "Please, as if Aunt Ginny or Uncle Harry would ever do that," Lucy Weasley scoffed.

I brightened considerably. "Lucy!" I squealed, hugging her tightly. Lucy was a fifth year Ravenclaw with straight, medium brown hair, and hazel eyes. She was thin and tall, and just so happened to play Chaser with me. She joined the team a year after me, and I considered her a very big part of our close-knit team group.

"Hey, Phoebe, Kali," she said, nodding towards us. "I heard about what James did. Rose and I got together in our History of Magic class and wrote to Auntie Hermione, who will tell Uncle Harry. James should be getting a Howler sometime this week. I can't believe he did this so early into term...Would you like to come to the Owlery with me to send our note?"

Kali laughed. "I want lunch. From what I've heard so far, N.E.W.T.s are miserable, and there's no way I'm going to sit through Transfiguration on an empty stomach. Should I save you something, Phoebe?" I nodded gratefully.

"Yeah, thanks."

Lucy and I walked up the West Tower, talking all the while about each of our summers. Lucy had stayed with her Uncle George in his shop for three weeks while her parents went on an anniversary trip, even though her seventh year sister, Molly, was with Dominique Weasley. Lucy complained about being constantly pranked, and, of course, she received large amounts of sympathy from me. Who would want to live with Fred Weasley for three weeks? For a moment, I almost pitied the Scamander twins for sharing a dorm with Potter and Fred, but then I realized that I couldn't feel particularly sympathetic, seeing as Lysander was the one who had found my bag in the prefects' compartment.

Lucy tied the letter onto her eagle owl, then sent it on its way. I would've sent a letter home, but I nothing yet had happened this year that I felt inclined to tell my parents. I could send them a letter on the weekend. "Alright, if we hurry, we could still catch the lunch."

"Sure."

Lucy hesitated a moment as I walked ahead. "Phoebe?" she called. I turned to face her.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened this morning. Rose, Al, Lily, Hugo and I were yelling at James after breakfast. We think it was awful what he did. Are you okay?"

I smiled softly. "You know, Luce, I'm trying not to think about it. I still have my friends, and you don't seem to care what I wrote in a stupid diary anyways. I could care less what everyone thought about me."

She still didn't hurry to catch up with me. "James isn't as bad as you think he is. Oh, no doubt he's a total prat at times," she added, seeing my disbelieving expression. "But he's really loyal to his friends, and he cares about his family. Unfortunately, he's also really good at holding grudges. The thing is, you are too. One fight about a cat on a train, and suddenly you're enemies. And I don't know if you two will ever be able to be anything besides that.

"But...well, the thing is...Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry are really upset with James lately. The know he's been harassing you, and I've no doubt that they'd try to fix the damage. James won't do anything to try to be nice to you, but if you don't provoke him, well...maybe Uncle Harry won't invite your family over for dinner on the holidays."

"WHAT?" I screeched. Lucy bit her lip nervously.

"That's just what I heard my father say to my mother," she was quick to say.

I took a calming breath. "Erm...right. Well, no matter. I mean, my parents could just decline the invitation. No need to worry."

"Do you really think they'd do that?" she asked slowly. "Uncle Harry killed Voldemort, and pretty much saved the world in the process. He's the biggest celebrity in the wizarding world."

"No doubt he's the reason your cousin is so selfish," I said snidely.

"Actually," Lucy said softly, "he's not very selfish. He gets what he wants, sure, but he doesn't ask for more than he knows he deserves. Most of the time, at least. Uncle Harry didn't want his kids thinking they were better because of their last name. They're pretty normal, even if James can be very arrogant."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I remained quiet. Finally I asked, "Why did you send that owl if it's only going to make the Potters invite us over for dinner?"

Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "Well...what he did was despicable. And I think he really deserves a Howler. He has no limitations when it comes to you. And that's something that can't go unpunished. Neither of you should have such a strong hatred inside of you."

I bit my lip. "Thanks, Lucy," I said sincerely. "You're pretty smart, you know that?" She just shrugged.

"No problem, Phoebe."

We walked out of the Owlery together, but I was still weighed down by what Lucy told me. So, in summary, Hufflepuffs hated me, Brent wanted to talk to me about a silly crush I had on him, and if I didn't behave around Potter, his parents would invite my family over for dinner.

I hate James Sirius Potter.

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**_... Next Chapter ..._**

_... This prank was serious shit ..._

_... __"I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me?" ..._

_... "You do realize this all could have been avoided?" ..._

_... "Was what I did...wrong?" ..._

_... Oh, shut up ...

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_I cannot tell you how awful I feel about his wait. I have quite a few reasons (and excuses). I doubt you want to hear them, though. Writer's block was really the most prominent reason, however. I hope that doesn't stop you from reviewing! Keep reading!  
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	4. Oh, Shut Up: Prepare for War

**Title: The Rules of Rivals**

**Pairing: James Sirius Potter/OC (Phoebe Erickson)  
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**Updated: 8/09/10**

**Words: 3000

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_I wish I could say this chapter is amazing, but it's not exactly. Not to say that you shouldn't read it, because the__re's plenty of lovely foreshadowing and hints of what's to come, but I'm just setting up for future chapters mostly. It's shorter than I wanted, which is part of the reason as to why this update took so long. More on that later. For now, enjoy the chapter!_**  
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I didn't have any class after lunch, and I spent the time with Fred in our dorm, planning a big prank for the week leading up to the first Quidditch match. Sure, we don't even have a full team yet, but this prank has to be great. I have a reputation to uphold. This prank was serious shit. It could not be half-assed. I didn't do anything by the half. Why hold back now?

We would prank the opposing team, which was, much to my pleasure, Ravenclaw. This idea was...mind-blowing. I mean, sure, my cousins and siblings had lectured me after what I did to Erickson, but they should have expected it. Or at least gotten used to the fact that something was going to happen, because Erickson and I really hate each other. Not anything petty. We hold real disdain for each other. Besides, it wouldn't be the first day of term without _some_ sort of conflict.

Lucy had been the most upset with me, but she's actually friends with Erickson, so I didn't value her opinion too much. She's obviously some sort of crazy if she could put up with that lunatic.

"Alright, we just have to find a good place to do this where the whole team is. Otherwise, it won't be that good," Fred said.

"Well," I considered. "Maybe we should try feeding the idea to, like, Rose that it would be good if all the Quidditch teams had private parties, and we could try to get Lucy to encourage Erickson to have one. That way, they'll all be together and we'll be able to set it up before, which will make everything so much easier."

"Yeah, that's good. But we have to be careful to cover our tracks."

Long ago, Fred and I realized that the key to pulling off a successful plan is controlling what people say. If anyone knows too little or too much, it can affect what happens. We realized that we could use this to our advantage, but if we weren't careful, it could ruin everything. Therefore, we have to control what people know by feeding certain people information. Being popular really helps us pull off everything we do, even though I used to think that stuff like that didn't matter to me.

Lorcan and Lys entered the dorm room at that moment, announcing that we had to go to Potions. Fred and I quickly got up and followed the twins out. As I shut our dorm room door, I was desperately hoping that Professor Jiznik hadn't heard about the situation this morning. No doubt if she had, she would completely favor Ravenclaw in class today and be especially cold and unhelpful to me. For some reason, teachers are complete hypocrites. They always talk about being fair and sharing and all that crap, and then they show favoritism to all of the little suck-up teachers' pets. Most inconvenient for a person like me, because I just so happen to be a slacker who destests work and Potions class in general. But hey, my dad says Potions is important. So why not?

"I hate Potions," Lys whined miserably. He was taking the class because it was required for his desired future job, which was working with poisoned or disfigured animals or something, Something sort of sentimental but still excitingly and possibly dangerous.

"I hate class," Lorcan said.

"I hate school," Fred chimed in.

"Well, I hate working."

"I hate...damn. I can't think of anything besides 'life', and that wouldn't even be true. You win again, James."

"I usually do."

"Oh, shut up."

We arrived in Potions right at the bell, and Jiznik glared sharply at us. I shrugged cheekily, and she rolled her eyes like she hadn't expected anything else. Her curly blond hair flipped over her shoulder as she turned to face the class. "Alright, so today we'll talk about N.E.W.T.s and learn about the different potions we'll be studying this year. I hope you all listen closely; this lesson will be very important."

I proceeded to tune out the rest her speech. We discussed Polyjuice Potion, Felix Felicis, Amortentia, and some other uninteresting-sounding mixtures that sounded stupid and apparently took an incredibly long time of waiting around for it to most likely blast into your face. In that case, you just wasted hours and days on something completely useless. There's a reason I hate Potions class.

We left the dungeons and started to walk towards the Entrance Hall so we could spend the rest of the afternoon on the grounds. It still felt like summer; the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and there was a slightly wind blowing the leaves and grass. There were fluffy clouds, and students sitting on the docks and against the trees. It looked like a scene out of a freakin' storybook, to tell the truth.

The four of us walked off to a nice spot by the Black Lake. A group of giggly Hufflepuff girls waved at us, and we all grinned and titled their heads. Lorcan suavely winked at a pretty brunette. The five girls all turned to face each other, hiding their smiles with their hands, and doing a bad job of hiding their particularly loud giggles. The four of us all smiled at each other and knocked knuckles. "We are so _cool_."

"And you're also very modest," Lys commented, rolling his eyes at my arrogance, which was, by the way, on purpose.

"Oh, shut up."

I quickly hushed my friends, who were loudly guffawing, as I noticed at pretty blond headed my direction. Remy Shore, Hufflepuff Chaser, who definitely was one of the hottest girls in school. She was tall and thin, with wavy gold locks, cerulean blue eyes, and an incredible body. She was also a pretty damn good Chaser, and wasn't actually a total bimbo, which was a plus. She wasn't smart, per se, but she wasn't dumb.

She quickly approached us, a smiled a bright white smile at me. "Hey, James," she greeted me.

"Hey," I nodded, smirking just so slightly.

"So, I heard you complimented my Quidditch playing earlier. I just wanted to say thank you." As she spoke, she slowly came closer to me. "You know, that means a lot, coming from you."

"Oh?" I asked, encouraging her.

"Yeah, it really does. You're just such a good player, and I really admire you."

"Thanks! That's pretty awesome," I said, thoroughly enjoying the compliment. After she stood there for a couple more seconds, she smiled brightly and asked a very important question.

"Well, I was wondering if, maybe, you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me? Next time we have a Hogsmeade weekend, anyways."

_Score!_

"Yeah, sounds cool. Maybe we could hang out sometime."

"I'd like that." Remy hesitated ever so slightly, then firmly pressed her lips against mine. She didn't pull right away, either. She kept her lips against mine for a full ten seconds, then pulled away and strutted off, flipping her gorgeous hair over her shoulder with a sexy grin. Then, she blew me a kiss.

"Damn, I love Hogwarts girls."

* * *

"Mate, it's the first day back, and you already have a date," Fred told me, smirking.

I assumed a haughty air. "Why, of course I do! I _am_ James Sirius Potter, after all."

Lys rolled his eyes, ever the grounded one of our group. "And I'm Lysander Amadeus Scamander. My name's longer than yours, James."

"Oh, shut up."

"Mine's...Lorcan Vitalis Scamander."

"Fine how it took you a moment to remember your name, mate."

"Oh, shut up."

We walked into the Great Hall to the lovely smell of meat. "Ah, food," I sighed happily. "I'm starving. Potions always makes me hungry, I dunno why. Probably has to do with the fact that the smells of all the Potions make me want food or something."

We were already grabbing mashed potatoes and roast beef before we fully sat down. I didn't wait before stuffing mashed potatoes covered in gravy into my mouth. I closed my eyes briefly. "Dammit, I love food. I missed Hogwarts so much. My Mum isn't that great at cooking. It really doesn't make much sense, 'cause Grandma makes food to die for." I didn't open my mouth again until before dessert, so I didn't interrupt my food intake, and only then because Lucy had shown up again to reprimand me.

"James, I hope you haven't forgotten when your Mum and Dad said about you-know-what."

"It was just a little prank! Nothing that important..."

"Oh, please, shut up. _Langlock!_"

What the hell? Not fair! I have a right to defend myself! And now I couldn't even eat treacle tart, which had magically appeared next to me!

"Listen, James, this is for your own good. I know you don't want to deal with Phoebe at a family dinner. Talk about awkward, right? But Rose and I were horrified about what you did, so we sent a letter to Aunt Hermione."

Oh shit. I'm completely screwed. Dammit. At least she looked guilty.

"You can probably expect a Howler, and...oh, shit, I feel really bad. Sorry." She muttered the counter-curse and I promptly exploded.

"Why the _hell_ did you do that! Now I'm going to get yelled at in front of the whole bloody hall!" Now my voice took on a whiny tone. "Luce, I have a date with Remy Shore! What if she cancels because of a Howler! I mean, I would easily win back my popularity, but my pride would definitely be wounded if that happened. Can't you just...I dunno...send a letter to Aunt Hermione saying it was just a joke? She won't believe me if I tell her. I've been yelled at by my dad so much anyways, it won't make much of a difference this time."

Fred quickly spoke. "I am also not looking forward to being yelled at, especially by Aunt Ginny-she scares me-so I would also appreciate if you could take back what to said in your letter."

Lucy looked at us questioningly. "You two _do _realize that all of this could have been avoided if you just hadn't played the prank in the first place, right?"

Fred and I glanced at each other and then said, "Where's the fun in that?"

"Ugh!"

* * *

As we walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower, I was complaining. "I feel like all people have been doing today is yelling at me!"

"Well," Lys considered, "maybe what you did was a little extreme."

I hesitated. "I hate Erickson. She's done some pretty extreme things to me too." I thought about my words. Erickson _had_ done some incredibly crazy things to me in the past, and I wasn't going to sit down through abuse. I fought back. Admittedly, somewhat dirtily. We were always pranking each other. We always teased, insulted, and cursed each other. It was life. But nothing before was very personal. We were enemies on principal, but we didn't even know each other well. All I could probably tell you about her is that she's a Ravenclaw nerd, prefect, and Quidditch Captain whom I hated. Our rivalry really wasn't personal. I found it strange that someone who was a (unfortunate) constant in my life was mostly a stranger to me. I didn't really feel that guilty, but this took our hatred to a whole new level. "Was what I did...wrong?"

Fred looked offended. "NO! It was _brilliant_!"

"Maybe it was a little extreme..."

"NO! No, no, no..."

"But I really do hate her. She deserves it. Remember how she hexed the Bludger?"

Lorcan entered the conversation. "I think that reading it to an audience might have been a little too much. You could have just, I dunno...read through the thing. That way, you would know more secrets about her. Ones that she would only confide to a secret diary about. And everyone wouldn't be bothering you."

I frowned. "Bullocks. I should have done that. This is all _her_ fault!"

Lys appeared completely confused. "How is it her fault? _You're_ the one who read _her_ diary aloud to the Great Hall, not the other way around."

"Shut up! If I hadn't been so focused on ruining her life, I would have had more time to think everything through!"

They laughed before I glared at them. "It's not funny!" I wailed.

"Yes it is," they chorused.

"Well, maybe it is," I conceded. "I guess I feel a little bad about what I did. But I'm not apologizing. I still think she deserved it."

"Damn right she did," Fred agreed. He didn't look as if he felt guilty one bit. Probably because he hadn't been receiving as much crap from the family as I was. We were used to it, but after some pranks the lectures were particularly awful. We couldn't help that it was our nature. It was in our blood. Fred's father and both of our namesakes were incurable pranksters. It was almost a sort of legacy we had to fulfill. It came naturally to us. "Besides," Fred continued. "Today wasn't all bad. You have a date with Remy Shore!"

I was about to agree, but before I could, my feet flew out from under me. I starting sliding down the stairs, which I quickly realized weren't even stairs. They had become a ramp, and I was quickly gaining speed. I felt somewhat panicked, but also thought it was kind of awesome. No one can say I'm not a true Gryffindor. I looked back at my friends, and saw that they had managed to grab hold of the banister. Unfortunately for me, they appeared to need both of their hands to hold on. I felt resigned to the fact that I would have a few bruises once I reached the landing, and was rapidly combing my brain for a the counter spell to '_Glisseo_', the spell that had likely been used to level the staircase.

I continued to slide down the stairs, gaining speed. My ears popped, and suddenly I tumbled onto a platform, and started rolling down the next set of stairs, bruising myself violently. As I rolled, I caught sight of _her._

Phoebe Erickson, in all of her bitchy glory, was a parallel staircase to the one I was currently bruising myself on, was hiding a smirk, watching with fascination as I somersaulted down a few steps, near the bottom. I cringed in pain as my funny bone hit...something. My knee twisted as I continued down. I barely contained a yelp when my head was hit, but found I couldn't help a cry of pain as my shin crunched sickeningly. Finally, I heard Fred shout "James!" as I slammed into the bottom step. It was the last thing I heard before passing out.

* * *

I woke up in the Hospital Wing.

It was nighttime, that much I could tell. My head hurt like nothing I had ever felt before, and it throbbed painfully as I lifted it up to check all of my limbs. Everything was intact. Obviously, Madam Haltor had healed everything, but I still felt sore. My right shin was in a cast, and I felt relieved once I realized there wasn't too much pain left over. I had a feeling that it _was_ broken, but had been fixed. I thanked Merlin for magic. It had also managed to heal my knee, which had been sprained.

I belatedly realized that there was a chocolate bar on my nightstand, and I stuffed it down. The throbbing calmed into a dull thud after a couple bites, and was completely gone once I finished the chocolate. I began to check myself more thoroughly for bruises, and found that Madam Haltor had healed all of them to the best of her abilities. In other words, only a couple of small bruises remained of what were probably colossal blue ones.

I was going to kill Phoebe Erickson.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was her who had jinxed the stairs, and I felt a rush of rage run through my veins at the thought. I didn't care if she got a years worth of detentions, it still wasn't enough. Her crime called for payback. I didn't know what it was, but it was coming. She was going to rue the day she decided to cross paths with me. I was not in the mood for light punishment. This was war.

* * *

_**... Next Chapter ...**_

_... detentions for the rest of the term on Wednesdays and Saturdays ..._

_...__ We're your friends, and we always forgive you ..._

_..._ _I don't think anything can justify what you did ..._

_... __When were you planning on telling me? ..._

_... Fuck you, Erickson ...  
_

_**

* * *

**_

_I feel awful that you have all been waiting for so long, but I have legitimate reasons for not updating. The major reason is writer's block, and the fact that I wanted to make this chapter longer and couldn't find a way to. We were also planning a vacation to Mexico, and that took up some of my time. The biggest reason, though, is a personal family crisis, and it just took time to work through. Thank you so much for being such patient people. Please review!_


	5. Friends Forever

**Title: The Rules of Rivals**

**Pairing: James Sirius Potter/OC (Phoebe Erickson)  
**

**Updated: 8/29/10**

**Words: 3501

* * *

**

_Hey, guys. So, this chapter took a while too. I have a feeling that I probably will start taking an even longer (yes, I know, is that possible?) time_ _update chapters due to the fact that school just started. I'm in an advanced program and I'm going to be having a ton of homework and projects this year. I have to read a classic book for a book report, and I was thinking Pride and Prejudice? Any thoughts on that?_

_Anyways, this chapter is split into so many sections...a lot happens. I tried fleshing out a few characters more and giving them more "screentime", so to speak. Included in this chapter are special bits with Brent, Kali, and Fred. Enjoy!

* * *

_

l felt like I should be in Azkaban right now.

I felt terrible about what I did. As in, stay-up-late-into-the-night-wishing-I-had-thought-before-I-acted terrible. Hearing him complain to his friends about what an awful day he had just made me snap. _He_ had an awful day? What about me? Before I could even think about what I was doing, I had jinxed the stairs, with malicious contempt. Watching him slide, I had almost laughed. All the years of abuse...I guess I was just at my breaking point. But I knew that didn't excuse me, not in any way. I stood in shock, staring at Potter after he crumpled onto the ground. I felt like I was in a daze as I watched the teachers gather around his crumpled body. His friends crowded around the teachers, trying to catch a glimpse of him.

Professor McGonagell asked them who has jinxed the steps. I saw her eyes flit over to me before Potter's friends left the scene. Everyone seemed to finally be moving on, except for the group of Ravenclaws I was with. Thomas, Shayden, and Kali were standing around me, surprised with what I had done. _I_ was surprised.

Professor McGonagell headed in my direction. I nodded blankly as she gave me detentions for the rest of the term on Wednesdays and Saturdays with Hagrid (starting at 7:00), hardly registering what she said in my trance. I deserved much worse. I cursed my temper when it came to Potter. He made me so_ freakin' _angry. I couldn't stand to see the smirk he wore every time he teased someone or pulled off a prank. I couldn't stand the fact that he was obnoxiously _right_ all of the time. I couldn't stand his stupid hair, his attitude, and his ability to get away with almost anything. I couldn't stand _him_.

But I still felt awful about what I did.

I didn't snap out of my daze until Kali finally spoke up in our dorm room. "Phoebe? Phoebe!" I jolted violently out of my daze and looked expectantly towards her.

"Yes?"

"Brent's looking for you. He's down in the common room."

I almost shuddered, but refrained. In the day's drama, I had nearly forgotten about Brent's request to talk to me. I felt goosebumps form on my arms at the thought of what Brent might say to me. I wished that we could avoid the whole "awkward confrontation" thing. I had a bad day, and I really didn't want to make it worse. I was super stressed, and I was already having trouble taking in everything that had happened in the past few hours. It was enough to give anyone a migraine.

i smiled grimly at Kali, who offered a comforting shrug. I breathed deeply and headed into the common room. I spotted Brent quickly enough. He was hunched over an assignment, working diligently. I desperately wished for an out, glancing around. Finding none, I sighed deeply and walked over to Brent, thinking up something to say while I did so. I sat on the couch next to him, and he looked up at me, a smile spreading over his face.

"Phoebe!" he greeted. I sucked in a breath and was about to make an excuse for what I had written in my diary, but Brent cut me off before I began to speak. "How are you?"

I paused, confused. "What? Oh, er, fine. I guess. You know. The usual."

I surveyed me thoughtfully. "You seemed quite a bit stressed today."

I laughed. "Yeah, you could say that."

He laughed with me. "Well, no one could blame you. I hate Potter too."

"I shouldn't have jinxed those steps. I didn't mean to, it just...well it just happened. He makes me so angry! I couldn't stand to hear him saying I _deserved_ it...bloody bastard." He raised his eyebrow and I became quite flustered. "Not that I'm justifying what I did, because it was a rotten thing to do, of course. I'm just saying that I didn't think before I acted, and although I really should have, there was nothing I could do to stop myself. I was stressed and upset and-"

"Phoebe, shut up." I frowned. "I don't blame you. How many times have you ended up in the Hospital Wing because of him?"

"Er...I lost count a year back."

He grinned, and I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes seemed to brighten when he did so. I quickly shoved that thought to the back of my head, reminding myself that now was not the time and that this conversation could quickly become very unpleasant.

"Besides, he'll be fine. Who cares if people hate you for a while? They're arses. We're still your friends, and we always forgive you." I felt a warm feeling envelope my entire body and wondered briefly how I had ever gotten lucky enough to have such wonderful mates. "Unless you happen to murder someone, of course. That could turn ugly. However, I highly doubt that'll ever happen unless you go insane. But...we're here for you."

Bloody hell, why'd he have to get so sentimental? It was so sweet, and I was reminded of why I liked Brent in the first place. He always spoke from his heart.

Hesitantly, and not wishing to attack the subject directly, but knowing that things would be awkward if I let it go, I asked, "Is that all?"

"Er, no. Actually, I wanted to tell you that...Phoebe, I really like you too. Do you want to go out with me?"

It took a moment before I processed what he had said. "What?" I asked, confused. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

He looked at me, bemused. "Do you want me to repeat myself?"

"Er, no, that's fine. I heard you, I was just surprised." I felt my face heating up, and I suddenly blurted out, "Yes. Yes, that'd be lovely."

"Great." He leaned over, hesitated for a moment, asking, "Is this okay?" As my nod, he lightly brushed his lips against mine. "Er-see you later, right?"

"Um, yes?"

Did I sound too clueless? I smiled at him, trying not to look too pleased and wondering whether or not I was dreaming. This couldn't actually be happening, could it? Had the stress gotten to me? Was I crazy?

In the few moments I had spent worrying, Brent had packed up his things. With one smile at me, he walked away without saying another word. I didn't move for a minute, still somewhat shocked. Once everything had sunk in, and I realized that I was going out with the bloke I had a crush on for months, I rushed up the stairs to my dormitory. Kali had to be the first one to know.

* * *

The next morning, I felt much better going to breakfast. Sure, I still regretted what I had done to Potter, but I was probably going to end up sending him an apology note. Maybe. It's not like he had when he had put _me_ in the Hospital Wing all those times, and I had been there for _two weeks_ one time. He would probably be back in class today, knowing Madam Haltor. Broken bones and bruises were simple to heal. It was more difficult to deal with curses and poisons from magical animals. He'd be _fine_.

I walked down to breakfast with Shayden and my brother that morning, seeing as Kali was still buried under her sheets and pillows. Admittedly, we did go somewhat earlier. I was hoping that the Great Hall would be emptier.

Shayden and Thomas flirted all the way down to the first floor, much to my discomfort. Actually, mostly Shayden flirted. Thomas was slightly awkward around girls. He used to be much more so, back when all he knew was academics, but as girls had slowly shown more interest in him, he became a bit more comfortable with the attention. He had become more extroverted since he came to Hogwarts, and I felt proud of him, thinking how he used to very nearly be a hermit. As a child, there were days when he only came out of his room for meals. He had always been fascinated with experimenting and Science, a Muggle concept that I still didn't fully understand.

Anyways, we entered a relatively empty Great Hall. There were about twenty other students there, nearly half of them Ravenclaws. Only a few teachers had arrived as well. I breathed a silent breath of relief, not wanting to deal with the haters this early in the morning.

"I'm gonna grab a banana and be gone, I'll see you two later, alright?"

There weren't any bananas that morning, so I took an apple from the fruit tray instead. Changing my mind, I sat down to butter a couple pieces of toast. What? I was _hungry_. Worry and excitement can do wonders for your appetite. I was a nervous eater anyways. I was currently worried about what the general population of Hogwarts would be saying about me now, and, of course, that had me munching on my toast very fast. Did I mention that I didn't want to run into any haters today?

I left as quickly as possible, waving goodbye to my brother and friend, and had just walked out the door when I collided with someone and fell down. I rubbed my head and looked at the person. She had wavy golden hair left down today, held away from her face with an elaborate clip. Her pink lips were curled into a sneer, and her thick eyelashes glared down at me. She was none other than Remy Shore, Hufflepuff's current leading scorer.

Now, Remy Shore is an interesting person. I would honestly say she's rather like myself, although probably not quite as intelligent, not that I'm trying to sound pompous. I used to get along quite well with her-we were even friends at one point-but that was all before she started to like Potter. She has a mostly mild attitude and can be very friendly and tolerant. However, she can turn into a huge bitch when she thinks you deserve it. The fact that she was sneering at me was a bad omen.

"Hello, _Phoebe_." She spat out my name like it was a dirty word. "I heard what you did to James, and let me just say, I am _stunned_. You should be ashamed for endangering him like that. It's very immature behavior and I can't believe that you would do something so _awful_. What happened to the old, nicer Phoebe? She seems to have been replaced by a bitchier version. I don't think _anything_ can justify what you did. It was a despicable, rotten thing, and you deserve twice the punishment you got."

With that, she walked off, leaving me staring after her, feeling my stomach clench painfully, because I knew that she was right.

* * *

I felt miserable all throughout my classes. I couldn't handle all of the glaring and scoffing. I knew people sneered at me when I walked past. I knew they laughed at my immaturity. I knew everything they did, and it only served to make things worse. For the first time in my life, I cursed my height, which I normally found helpful, but all it did now was make me stand out in a crowd. The only thing that kept me sane was the fact that I knew my friends had my back.

I had Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures that morning, both of which Brent didn't take, so we could avoid any awkward situations in which we only told a couple friends at a time that we were dating. I figured that our Transfiguration class would be a good time to inform our friends of our newly found romance, since everyone was in that class. I was hoping for as little weirdness as possible. Second day into school, and I already had plenty of drama in my life.

I skipped lunch, still avoiding the Great Hall. Kali couldn't go without lunch, but she ate quickly and joined me in an empty corridor on the sixth floor near the Transfiguration classroom. I hadn't been able to tell her about my relationship with Brent yet (she was sleeping when I got upstairs last night) , and was just opening my mouth to do so, but she interrupted me before I got a chance to speak.

"So, when were you planning on telling me about you and Brent?"

I resembled a fish out of water in the following moment.

"What? But...how? I thought...no, that's not right! What?"

"Brent told us at lunch."

"He needs to really think before he speaks, doesn't he?" I said, sighing.

"Yep, sure does."

"It only happened last night, when he wanted to talk to me."

"I figured. Interesting start to the year, eh?"

I groaned. "Ugh, tell me about it. I'm dreading the next time I see Potter. Thank Merlin it's going to be the weekend. I'll need time to cool down. The last two days have been nothing but torture. I don't know what I'm going to do. I feel awful, which is a problem in itself, because I feel awful about something I did to _Potter_, which is quite bothersome, because I know that the toerag wouldn't care if the same thing happened to me. It's so bloody awful!"

Kali smiled at me sweetly. "Honey, you'll figure things out. Everything will get back to normal soon. Don't worry. Besides, I'll be with you the entire way. After all, what are friends for?"

I found this speech similar to the one Brent had given me earlier, as I wondered once more how I had such amazing friends. I didn't deserve them. I was an awful person who landed people in the Hospital Wing after breaking their bones. They were sweet, kind, and the best friends anyone could ask for. I wondered how Brent could feel any desire to be with me. I wasn't half as good a person as he was.

I wasn't surprised when I involuntarily threw my arms around Kali in a huge hug. "Kali, you are the absolute best friend anyone could possibly wish for."

* * *

Transfiguration was a blur of suggestive eyebrow-raising, smirks, "Why didn't you tell me?"s, and "Get it on!"s . I found myself smiling and blushing, and in a generally happier mood after class. I felt generally thankful that we had Transfiguration by ourselves, just the Ravenclaws. It was nice to just be surrounded by friends. I found myself extremely grateful for their support. I left the classroom with a smile on my face, despite the load of homework that Professor Hollis had placed on us. Kali was right. Everything _would _be fine.

Well, it would have been, had I not run into a certain group of people.

Literally.

I walked straight into Fred Weasley, and we both dropped our books and angrily glared at the other person, the intensity of his glare increasing once he realized it was me, and the intensity of my glare decreasing as I became slightly timid about the inevitable fight. My guilt and embarrassment over what I had done to Potter far outweighed my anger for being knocked over. I knew that I wouldn't be able to fight whatever he threw at me, because he had every right to be furious with me. I briefly wondered how I would feel next time I saw Potter.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I know what you do to people who upset you. Wouldn't want to cause anymore 'accidents', would we?"

His sarcasm cut me deep, and it frustrated me, knowing that his biting remark was merited. Still, I had to bite my lip to keep from making a rude remark aimed towards him. His best friend was in the hospital with broken bones because of me. I deserved anger. I deserved sarcasm. I deserved whatever he thought I did.

"I'm sorry," I muttered quietly, not knowing whether or not I should say anything at all. Whether it was my place. I felt incredibly insecure about everything I did now, especially in front of Fred Weasley.

"Sorry isn't good enough," he snapped coldly. His purposefully pushed my shoulder as he past, making me stumble to the side, nearly falling over again. I watched him walk down the hall, feeling incredibly horrible for what I had done to Potter but still feeling slightly like he had done worse things to me, and that he deserved it. That was the worst part.

* * *

The night, James Sirius Potter was released from the Hospital Wing at made a reappearance at dinner in the Great Hall. Everyone was crowding around him, their admiration for him showing on their faces. As I saw him soak up the attention, I felt bits of the anger I had felt last night when I jinxed the stairs return. He was a good-for-nothing toerag and he had once put me in the Hospital Wing with a broken back when he had cursed me after Potion's class. Of course, he had received numerous detentions, but I had too, so we were even.

He was practically glowing by the end of dinner, and I was glaring daggers at him. I hardly took notice of the fact that my group of friends was teasing Brent and I throughout dinner. The only time I really paid much attention to them was when Brent pulled me close to him and gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. I blushed and felt bad for not paying him more attention throughout the meal.

Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted everyone's dinner.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER, YOU ARE IN _SO_ MUCH TROUBLE!" My head swiveled towards the Gryffindor table, where a bright red Howler was shouting at Potter, who looked rather pissed off. His mother's voice was the one yelling at him, her tone of voice rather pissed of as well. Ginny Potter was famous for having a fiery personality, and I was close to feeling like pity for Potter, seeing as he was likely to get quite the talking-to, even though I had done (admittedly) worse to him than he had done to me.

"YOUR FATHER AND I ARE EXTREMELY ANGRY WITH YOU! WE TRY TO TREAT YOU LIKE A RESPONSIBLE YOUNG ADULT, AND THEN YOU DO THINGS LIKE THIS! DO YOU THINK THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE? FAIR? NICE? WHAT GOOD CAME OUR OF IT? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED, JAMES! WHAT YOU DID WAS UNGENTLEMANLY, AND UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR! YOUR FATHER AND I HAVE THOUGHT HARD ABOUT WE SHOULD DO AS PUNISHMENT, AND WE SENT YOU A WRITTEN LETTER. THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS, AND WHEN YOU SEND AN APOLOGY, YOU _BETTER_ MEAN IT!"

The hall was deadly silent for a few moments. My eyes were wide as saucers, wondering about Potter's punishment. It couldn't be...

"FUCK YOU, Erickson!"

Potter, who had been reading the letter his Mum had sent him, seemed to be getting very mad. He stood up abruptly, knocking his pumpkin juice over onto Fred's lap, and causing quite a spectacle. His face was even angrier than the time I had charmed his shoelaces to be tied to each other and he had tripped on his face.

He marched straight over to the Ravenclaw table and shoved the letter in my face, so close that I could barely make out the words.

_...We invited the Ericksons over for dinner to talk about the problems between you and Phoebe Erickson... _

I stared at the paper in shock_, _not paying any attention to what was happening around me. My parents and Potter's parents would be getting together Sunday night to discuss the "problems" between us. Wonderful. Just bloody wonderful.

* * *

**_... Next Chapter ..._**

_... one person able to help me ..._

_..._ _grow up ..._

_... __I'm Silena Alterra ..._

_...__ you have a detention ..._

_... Potter, I'm sorry ...

* * *

_

_Well, that was interesting. I realize that this chapter is very broken, and there's a lot of sections. Sorry if that bothers you. I like writing like that more. Fortunately, the next chapter's not like that, although I think my writing was influenced by Mockingjay (huge disappointment), so it's quite a bit more depressing. But we see some of Rose and a new little buddy. And what I'm pretty sure is the first scene with just Phoebe and James._

_Please review!  
_


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